For decades, the nuclear energy sector has been regarded as the black sheep of the alternative energy market thanks to a series of high-profile disasters such as Chernobyl, Fukushima, and Three Mile Island. But recently, the sector has received the backing of the Trump administration , which has sought a $1.5B bailout of America’s flagging uranium industry in a bid to create sufficient federal stockpiles for national security purposes. Yet, nuclear energy could soon receive yet another shot in the arm that might significantly improve its standing in the eyes of the public: Substituting thorium for dangerous uranium in nuclear reactors. Thorium is now being billed as the great green hope of clean energy production, producing less waste and more energy than uranium. Thorium is meltdown-proof, has no weapons-grade by-products, and can even consume legacy plutonium stockpiles. A potential breakthrough The United States Department of Energy (DOE), Nuclear Engineering […]